Paul Pierce held on to anything negative Skip Bayless said about Jayson Tatum, and the Boston Celtics legend got his chance to demand an apology from the “Undisputed” host.
“First off, Skip, I need an apology to Jayson Tatum,” Pierce said on the FS1 program. “You ripped him. You said he couldn’t be the guy, he didn’t have the ‘it’ factor, Lonzo (Ball) will be better than him eventually. Hold on, we need to get some apologies out the way before I get started.
“You did say that. This is all documented. ‘He don’t have the ‘it’ factor. He’s not a dog,’ What else?,” he added. “There’s a lot more. The list is long, but it would take up the whole show for me to go over all these things you said about him. We just need a short apology. He’s a champion now.”
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Tatum helped lead the Celtics to their 18th title in franchise history on Monday night with a Game 5 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The All-Star forward had come close to championship victory before, but Boston fell to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals in 2022.
The 26-year-old accomplished a lot throughout his young career, but was missing that elusive title. That changed Monday, though, when Tatum led the way with a game-high 31 points and added 11 assists and eight rebounds in the 106-88 victory.
While the 18th championship is still fresh, the Celtics are set up nicely for a chance at a repeat next season with 11 players under contract including Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Plus, team owner Wyc Grousbeck said he’d been told Al Horford will return next year for his 18th NBA season.
Now Tatum and the rest of the Celtics will enjoy a few days in Miami before returning to Boston to celebrate with fans during a victory parade on Friday.
